I have way too much gear. My head tells me that it’s the image that counts – that the camera is just a tool. But that’s not what I really feel. I think I take better photos with cameras that I enjoy using, the ones that I appreciate for their feel and handling, the way they look. And the ones that connect me – however loosely – to iconic people and moments in the history of photography. Whatever the truth of it, carrying a good camera makes me feel like a better photographer.
So here goes, for those who may be interested – a non-exhaustive list of the stuff that fills my cupboards and shelves.
Rangefinders
A Leica M11-P is my daily user, replacing a sensor-corroded M9 as the camera I carry everywhere. Lenses are drawn from a variety of Leica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss M-mount lenses from 15 to 90mm. I rarely carry more than a couple at any one time.
Zeiss Ikon ZM and Leica M6 bodies add film capability.
Medium format
I came late to medium format film photography, drawn in by the collapse in used film gear prices during the great migration to digital in the 2000s. The ones I have kept and use regularly include:
Bronica SQA, with 65, 80 and 150mm lenses, a couple of 120 film backs and an unmetered prism finder
Minolta Autocord III TLR
Zeiss Super Ikonta IV folder
Voigtlander Perkeo E/III folder
Fujifilm GS645S
35mm SLRs
This is where I started back in the early 1980s, and over time built up an outfit of Pentax K and M42 mount bodies, including an LX, a couple of black MX bodies, Spotmatics (II and F), and a bunch of prime lenses from 24mm to 135mm. Including a 28mm shift lens that also works just as well adapted to the Leica M11, with Visoflex EVF
More recently I failed to resist the temptation of a like-new Nikon FM3A that appeared in the window of my local photo shop. Along with 24mm, 35, 50 and 90mm manual focus Nikkor lenses, it’s now my most used 35mm SLR.
Digital workhorses
Since 2004, the endless digital upgrade cycle has taken me through various generations of Nikon, Panasonic, and Olympus DSLRs and mirrorless systems. At the moment, I have settled on Sony A7IV and A7CR bodies, most often paired with a Sony 200-600mm zoom, to fill the gap left by the unsuitability of Leica M cameras for autofocus and long lens applications, most notably birds and sports. 17, 35, 45, and 70mm Macro AF prime lenses (mostly Sigma) cover other bases when I need them.
Compact cameras
A bunch of aging 35mm compacts I’ve picked up over my photographic lifetime include a Contax T2, Ricoh GR1S, Canon QL17 and Olympus Trip. These get less use now than in their heyday. I worry about the age, reliability and longevity of the electronics, but they’re all fun to use from time to time.
Scanning
Although I have a couple of aging film scanners, all my scanning is now done with one of the Sony bodies, and a Sigma 70mm macro lens, an old Kaiser copy stand and a Valoi 360 film scanning kit. Negative Lab Pro plugged-in to Lightroom handles the negative-to-positive conversions.
Printing
Until recently I used a local print shop for all my printing, but I’m now doing most of it at home, thanks to an irresistible Black Friday deal on an Epson P900.
Computing
Most of my images are processed on my Macbook using some combination of Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC, Nik SilverEfex and Topaz PhotoAI.
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